Hundreds of gemstone merchants here on Wednesday marched on streets and protested against illegal mining at one of Asia’s largest emerald mines in Swat.
The protesters with placards in their hands also chanted slogans against the government for not taking any measures to stop the powerful mafia from the illegal excavation at mines in Mingora. The protesters also held a press conference in favor of their demands. Junaid Afarin Khan, President Gem-Stone Merchant Association, said in the press conference, some powerful land mafia had taken over the emerald mine for the past couple of months and carried out the illegal excavation at the site.
“Ten years back, in 2010, the government auctioned the site of mining for One Hundred Million Rupees to its favorite bidder,” Khan said, adding that it had been five months since the auction was over but the powerful mafia in collusion with the mining department had yet not shut down the excavation at the mining site. ” The mining department has maintained silence over declaring a new date for auctioning the site,” Junaid Khan said, he accused the mining department of colluding with the powerful mafia and not setting a date for auctioning the site. Highlighting miseries of the laborers, he said there had been five thousand poor laborers working on daily wages and livelihood at the site. ” Now those laborers are jobless, as they have been forced out of the site by the powerful occupants of mines at the site.” He also blamed the mining department for taking a bribe and auctioned the Shamozai emerald mines to its favorite bidder at Rupee Two Hundred Million, much less than its value. He demanded the government to look into the matter and address the gemstone merchant’s reservation.” We want the government to issue us the auctioning documents of the Shamozai mining site, punish the corrupt officials in the mining department, and immediately set date for auctioning the Mingora’s emerald mining site.”
